Tag: Tarot Blog Hop

Thanks for hopping by. This ends our sixth year of the Tarot Blog Hop. Our wrangler for the 2017 Yule hop is Ania. She’s given us this for a topic:

Wishing on a Star

As we approach the final festival of the calendar year, we prepare for a time of feasting and drinking. Whether you are observing Yule, the winter solstice, Christmas, any other holiday, or just being able to down tools for a few days, it is a time for celebration and also for anticipation and wishes. With this in mind and before you fling yourself headlong into the spirit of seasonal over-indulgence, take a moment to reflect on what this year has brought you and what you wish for the next year to bring.

Which card(s) best represent or celebrate your past year and which best represent your wishes for the year ahead. You can either select the cards you think fit best, or draw them randomly and see what the Tarot thinks.

2017 has been a stellar (pun fully intended) year for me. I took some really big leaps of faith. One was moving to the Patreon platform. Another was buying The Cartomancer. Both were hella scary moves. For one choice I thought I would be vilified. For the other, I thought I would crash and burn. Of course, neither of those happened. This and other things were valuable lessons in how I have let fear take over my life in many areas. I’m a fearful person. I can point a finger at many reasons why, but when it comes down to it, the reason is staring back at me in the mirror. I allowed myself to think other people’s opinions were that important. Don’t get me wrong. I value (okay, crave) approval. But I put far too much weight on other people’s approval than on my own. I’ve made choices in my life based on how happy it would make someone else. Or how it might make them approve of me.

That bears repeating…I did things based on other people.

So the Patreon thing and the Cartomancer thing were terrifying. Both have approval ratings built-in. I’ve had some bumps with both but those have been minor. I think the person who has been hardest on me is, again, that face looking back at me in the mirror. She can be a really critical bitch. Still, she’s someone I know pretty well these days (talk therapy for the win.) So I know how to redirect her more easily. Because this year also saw me say yes to some pretty scary things like writing decks for USGames, putting my name in to present at NWTS, and publishing my first self-published book.

Taking it out of the micro and moving it into the macro, a whole lot went sideways in my world. Specifically, I developed a violent reaction to the number 45. This led me down a dark path where anytime anyone did anything to piss me off (traffic mostly), I muttered, “They voted for him.” I realized that was part of what the regime wanted. A Them vs. Us attitude. It lost me a few friends. I miss some of them. But it also led me to a very bright place full of activists, full of people who refused to be sucked into the quicksand of despair. People who held on to the idea of hope. That’s an ongoing good thing.

Now that’s some exposition for you, but what about the actual topic? What card or cards best represent the past year and which ones represent my desires for next year? Ania, I love this topic. It really made me dig into some things. I decided it would make a good combo spread where I draw a Tarot card then an Oracle card as the…I was going to say clarifier but here I think it will be the amplifier.

Reflections & Projections Spread

Past Year Card for reflection on the joy of the year

Past Year Card for amplifying that joy.

Past Year Card for reflection on the lessons of the year

Past Year Card for amplifying those lessons.

Coming Year Card for desires and projections.

Coming Year Card for amplifying those desires and projections

Quintessence of the Reading (this is the Mary K. Greer tip: Add all the cards up. Add them down to a number that is 22 or less. That is the drill-down of the reading–the Major Arcana that corresponds to that number.

Gaian Tarot (2011) Limited Edition by Joanna P. ColbertSecrets of the Mystic Grove Deck (c) 2017 U.S. Games Systems Inc. Used with permission. No other rights implied

Joy of the Past Year Card: The Ten of Air is my card for reflecting on my joy. What an interesting card. Typically this is the Ten of Swords but here are geese flying. This is my own joy at achieving leadership but also at learning how to let others lead. It is not always necessary for me to do it all myself. By leaning on others this year, I’ve accomplished so much more.

What amplifies the joys of the Past Year Card: 14, Confidence. I love this card for its message of taking pride in myself. I can see how this plays in beautifully to the Ten of Air geese. I was able to be proud of what I’d accomplished where before I might have been falsely modest. But dammit, I bought a mother-effing magazine. I wrote three decks in one year. I rocked it.

Lessons of the Past Year Card: Whoooo boy does the Two of Earth ever hit home. I’ve always had choices. Often I’ve made the wrong one then beat myself up for that choice so much that I missed out on other things. I learned to make choices, reap the results, then move on. Pissed someone off? Okay. I apologized if necessary or cut ties otherwise (in cases where it wasn’t just a little tiff.) Choices.

What amplifies the lessons of Past Year Card: Ahhhh 2, Dreaming is a bit ouchy for me. Some of my dreams were upended by my choices. I needed to listen more closely to that voice in my head telling me what to say yes to and what to say no to. I hear you, Universe. Dreams need smart choices.

Desires for the Coming Year Card: I actually considered throwing this and the other two back in to start over. Surely 2018 would be better than the Ten of Fire, right? But it makes sense. I’m cutting back, cutting down, trimming away that which does not serve me. This card is about how a fire can destroy while at the same time create the potential for new growth. I’m down for that. I’ve already got my eye on some things that must go or must be redirected. Energy isn’t endless. I have to treat it as a renewable source and remember to renew it. That’s a desire for 2018. To be so creative that I have to let go of what doesn’t serve. Tenacity will play a major role in this.

What amplifies my desires for the coming Year Card: 9, Togetherness made me grin. Fellowship is HUGE on my list of things I need this year. One piece of that has already fallen into my lap courtesy of one of my Gaian sisters. This card features such a variety of animals–including another peacock. I am going to have to shake my tail but that’s okay. I will be gathering my tribe to me.

The quintessence of the Reading: Typically this is for Tarot numbering only, but since the Secrets of the Mystic Grove cards are numbered, I factored them in as well. I got 47 which is 4+7=11 so Justice is my Quintessence for this reading. Justice is my reminder to balance my inner with my outer, my desires with my husband’s, play and work, all those things we are told to balance. With Tenacity as my word of the year, I will add Balance. Because as much as I want to be dogged and fierce about my wants and needs, I must balance things as well.

I hope you have enjoyed this journey through my process. If you want to be notified about upcoming things like my expanded Journey to Joy class, please join my newsletter.

Now hop on to the next blog. Don’t forget to leave a comment so I know you were here.

Money Money Money and Tarot is our topic. That damned Ania was anti-bunny this year so she’s forcing us to talk about money and oracles. 😀 Okay, so she’s not really forcing us but I thought I’d whine a bit.

Money and this Pisces are not the best of friends. I am very fond of spending my money. My darling husband is more a fan of keeping the stuff. We usually find a common ground. But when we don’t? Oh good gods, y’all! It’s fireworks then–and I don’t mean the fun kind.

It’s the kind that breaks things. No, we don’t throw stuff, but trust and love can get damaged when money comes up.

While this isn’t a spread per se, these sets of questions are designed to get you talking to your partner (or partners if you are in a poly group). Use it as a springboard for fine tuning your own money relationships. You can use them for opening up communication. Please note that if you get triggered easily, you should find a good therapist to work with you and your partner. Money is one of the deal-breakers in many marriages.

(For Poly folk, just add a card after Person 1 and Person 2.)

Person 1: What is your biggest block around money?
Person 2: What is your biggest block around money?

Joanne asks: So, give us your take on the influence of the Sun and/or Mercury in the Tarot or your favorite oracle deck. Pick a specific themed deck or go for one of the basics, talk astrology, or not, your choice. Tell us about a card or a spread that illustrates the properties associated with these celestial objects. There are various possibilities, particularly with Mercury, but there are also deities in different mythologically themed decks besides the Sun card (although you could also go there) that could shed some light on that symbol as well. Do a little research, consult your intuition, and teach us. 😉

First, welcome to our Tarot Blog Hop. If you want to join us, come find us on Facebook. We’d love to have other community-minded bloggers!

Joanne’s theme was hard for me. I am going to have to confess something here. I am not a Sun lover. I don’t like summer. I rejoice at Litha because the long hot days are going to be over eventually. Mabon is one of my favorite Sabbats because it is the harbinger of fall. I. Do. Not. Like. Hot.

Except in food, that is. Spicy food makes me happy. 😀 Burned flesh does not. I’ve had 2nd degree burns from the sun due to my Casper like coloring. We joke that I have two colors–white and red. Oh and that lovely in-between peel.

So the Sun to me is not always a good thing. In Tarot, it tends to be one of those cards that most see in a very positive light. I’m going to turn that around to discuss the dark side of the Sun. Yes, with a spread. 😀

First a few words about these shots of the sun. I took all of these the last days of July and the first days of August 2015. I shot them with an iPhone 6 using the app Hipstamatic. I’m taking an EXCELLENT eCourse with Mellissae Lucia. You should definitely check it out. So much fun and not a bunch of Fstop this etc. Very intuitive stuff. Nest iPhone Image Adventure starts in September. Don’t worry Android users…Vintage is a very fun app for your phones. Someone in this class is doing it with her Droid. I’ll be in the next class too. Join me.

Dark Side Of The Sun

1. Sunburn: What are you overexposed to right now? What do you need to limit in your life?

2. Burnout: What is taking up too much of your energy right now? What do you need to pay attention to as an energy sinkhole?

3. Drought: Where are you not getting enough “juice” in your life? What do you need to get more of in order to thrive?

4. Solar Flares: Who or what seems to be flaming out of control in your world? Can you do anything about it or do you just need to set firmer boundaries?

5. Heat Exhaustion: What are you doing too much of? This is most likely a physical activity. Or it is something you are not doing enough of.

It’s not that I hate the sun. I’m just not its biggest fan. Now hop on to the next blog to see what my neighbor has to say.

GIMME GIMME GIMME!

So I’m the wrangler for this Tarot Blog Hop. As we wrap up the third year of this community endeavor, I wanted to shine a light into the way we gift. Not give, mind you, but gift. Sometimes I think we see giving as an act of GIMME, GIMME, GIMME where everyone has their hand out. Everyone wants a piece of you. It can be overwhelming.

So I thought I’d turn the tables a bit to see what gifts I’ve been given and what gifts I’ve given. I asked the entire group blogging to all do the same spread. I called it The Joy Of Gifting.

From the call to join the blog hop:Yule, Hanukah, Christmas, Kwanzaa, Solstice,Winter. Whatever you call this time of year, it is a season of gift giving, gift receiving and sharing with family and friends for a majority of the world. Whether Papa Noel brings you a candy cane or the Winter Witch brings you switches, it’s a time of anticipation. The anticipation of what I might be getting and what I am giving are equal joys for me. To that end, here is a spread for each of us to do.

The Joy Of Gifting Spread

Shadowscapes

What gift would you give the world if you could? I would give the world the Page of Cups‘ joyful outlook. Because this card speaks to me of youth and emotion and that fanciful thinking I know I indulged in, I would hold hands with each person I met and ask them, “Where do you think your bliss went? Where do you think your joy is hiding?”

It’s my life’s passion to help others rekindle their love affair with the world. There’s so much out there to be unhappy about that I think many of us forget to tally up the joys. The Page of Cups is that part of us who still jumps in puddles and laughs at dogs chasing their tails.

Shadowscapes

What gift would you want from the world? Hello your royal highness! The King of Wands was a surprise for me. He’s such a passionate man always giving speeches and making sure the underdog has a voice. Then I realized that is the gift I want from the world.

Sometimes I lose my way. When I do, I’ve learned to ask my friends to help. Just the yesterday I had what I call a CR day. That’s when I’m CRanky, CRotchety and CRoss. So I asked my dear ones to share their joys with me.

And they did. And it worked. I found my path again.

Shadowscapes

What gift have you gotten that has brought you joy? When I saw the Five of Cups, I had to smile. There is sadness in this card with the overturned bowl and dead fish. But there is a joy in realizing that there is a bowl still whole.

The gift of knowing that even in sadness joy will come. That is the gift that has brought me joy this year. I understand that when I cry for what’s lost, I am cleansing my soul. I am making room for what’s coming.

Shadowscapes

What gift have you given that has brought you joy? HAHAHAHA! The Devil? Really Universe? I guess that’s true. I can be a bit of a burr under the saddle for those who dwell in nothing but negativity. I pick at them little by little showing them how that limits them.

And there is the idea that the Devil can be a card of ‘Calgon take me away’. I can’t remember who said that but it was someone in the Tarot world. So my gift that I’ve given in the guise of the Devil is the knowledge that it’s okay to play.

Shadowscapes

What is one last thing you would like to share about this season?King of Cups. Oh you handsome thing! He is my secret keeper as well as my compassionate soldier. In today’s world we are faced with so much ugliness. There are so many things to be genuinely outraged about.

I would share that the King of Cups knows how to fight battles without losing his humanity. He understands that rage and hatred can alter a person so that they don’t know themselves any more.

My last thing for you is a reminder to not let the world’s cruelties turn your own compassion into dust. Let your compassion be your shield even as outrage is your sword.

Before you go, here are this week’s TarotCopes for December 21-27, 2014

CARD OF THE WEEK: QUEEN OF PENTACLES Rule with compassion. By reviewing your roots you can see your future. Nurture your innate goodness.

AQUARIUS FOUR OF WANDS Organized chaos works for you. You know this. Embrace it. Home needs your passion so please focus. Structural changes.

PISCES HERMIT Study where you are. Open your heart to your place. Lonely doesn’t mean being apart. Reach out to those you feel a kindred spirit with.

ARIES QUEEN OF WANDS Time to show off a bit. Some may have forgotten how you shine. It’s up to you to remind them. Be gentle as you dazzle.

TAURUS STRENGTH When you know your own power, you don’t have to make a lot of noise. Outside praise isn’t as sweet as the song you sing to yourself.

GEMINI JUDGMENT There comes a moment when you must heed the call. You must rise up. You must sound your own clarion call to action. Rise Up.

Tea time?! This is what we get for having someone from across the pond. That darned Louise Underhill is our wrangler. Here is what she wants us to chat about.

The topic of the Samhain Blog Hop this time, is to discuss or show, via the Tarot or any other oracle, who you would invite to an afternoon tea on the Day of the Dead. What do you imagine they’d be like? What Tarot card (or cards!) would represent them? What would you ask them? What would you like to learn from them? Your “guest” can be living, or dead, but imagine them there and then represent them in a Tarot card (or more). [Tweet “A spread to contact the dead for today’s #TarotBlogHop. Blessed Samhain, y’all. “] So this is a very challenging topic for me because I can think of a dozen or more folks that I wouldn’t mind having over for an afternoon tea. Um, first of course I’d have to research what time an afternoon tea is and what one serves at a tea. I mean I guess tea and crumpets? But what exactly is a crumpet? And why are cookies biscuits? And sweaters jumpers? And flashlights torches? Well never mind the last. I can see the logical progression from a real flaming torch to a mechanical torch. But the jumper thing? Yeah, that I don’t get. But I digress which means I am totally avoiding the subject.

Gaian Tarot

I guess, since I am fixing to dive into NaNoWriMo tomorrow, I’ll go with an author. Again so many to choose from. There is one that I keep circling back to. I read her when I was in junior high and high school. Loved how she swept me out of my world into hers. Then I learned that not only was she a good writer, but she was also a lesbian. And from her pictures, a very attractive one at that. At that time my personal id was lesbian so it was very affirming to me to know that a childhood favorite author was like me. For her card, I’ll have to go with the Guardian of Air from the Gaian Tarot. She is perched up on a mountain where she can do her work, get her messages in and get them out as well. I love the intensity of this card as well. Oh, who did I invite? Why none other than JFK’s favorite author, Mary Renault. I would want to ask her about her biggest personal struggle with writing. Then the conversation would just flow. By the way, if you are doing NaNoWriMo, come buddy up with me. I’m there as TarotByArwen. And check out my eCourse to help yourself get those fifty thousand words cranked out. This time of year I have a lot of conversations with the dead–my own and other people’s loved ones. I wanted to also share a simple spread with you that you might use when you try to contact your own dearly departed. The Veil Is Thin Spread 1. Who comes to me now? 2. What message do you want to give me? 3. How can I honor your message best? I would suggest doing this in a consecrated Circle for the best results. Seek joy, y’all. Pass it on!

The person crazy enough to volunteer for this hop is Morgan Drake Eckstein.

He asked us to think about moments when our understanding of the Tarot radically changed.

For me, there are several but one stands out in particular.

I was living in Denver in the Five Points area, right across from the park on Champa to be precise. I was single. I was teaching at the now defunct College of Wicca and Old Lore. I was in a very happy place in my personal life.

One of the things I taught at COWOL was Tarot. Quelle surprise, right? Because of that, I read a lot of people’s cards. I also worked with, and taught, the magical uses of stones. I did a rather popular workshop at a local store as well on that subject.

My stone work deals with the Chakra system. It occurred to me that I could use Tarot as well with that system. And that’s when I created my first spread. I remember reading for a friend up in my upstairs apartment. We were sitting on the floor. As I laid the cards out, a very big, bad thing showed up–in her root chakra.

ASIDE: This next bit could be a bit trigger-y so I’m posting the lovely Nine of Fire from Joanna Powell Colbert’s Gaian Tarot to put in a spacer. Besides, this is one of my favorite Chakra and Tarot combo cards.

Gaian Tarot

As a reader, I am committed to reading the cards as I see them. I work with my clients to have conversations around the cards that fall. But this one? This one told me she had a past history of sexual abuse.

We worked through it. There were tears, hugs and anger at what person of power had done to a child. She also went back into therapy (I am not a therapist and don’t pretend to be one.)

But what hit me then was the power of Tarot within the framework of the right spread. Since then I’ve developed many spreads. I have a small collection of the Fairy Tale focused ones here.

I don’t do that Chakra one as much any more. It’s one of the few that I prefer to do in person or via SKYPE. It’s just not the same in email for some reason. Not sure why that is.

But, here’s the thing. I really love that spread. I’d like to do it for one of you via SKYPE or, if you are in the Austin area, in person. So leave me a comment letting me know why you would like to have a consultation with me using my Chakra spread. I’ll pull a name and email the winner. I’ll also post the winner here on September 30th.

Wait. Day five of the joy challenge includes yelling at your mother???

Joy Mum

Day five is here. It’s a bit grey here in Texas, but OH the temperature. I haven’t seen 70 in the morning in ages. It’s bringing me a lot of joy right now.

Have you looked yourself in the mirror yet to say this, “I am a joy seeker. Joy finds me. I am a joy magnet.” ??

I did…sort of. I looked myself in my reflection in the laptop screen. Hey! That counts.

Tell me some little joys that have come to you. One of mine was a pair of house wrens on my back porch. One of them wanted to make a nest in the can holder on my camp chair. The other one was obviously not impressed. I laughed at their antics.

You?

Oh! Today is Tarot Blog Hop day so the monthly Tarotscopes will be up tomorrow.

Oh SHUT UP Mom! is my discussion on the Queen of Pentacles. It includes an original spread.

[Tweet “Wait. Day five of the joy challenge includes yelling at your mother???”]

What’s a Blog Hop? Well, it’s when several bloggers (in our case twenty-one) all connect to one another to create a chain. Every six weeks, one of us takes on the role of wrangler. Their job is to give us a topic.

Our wrangler is Olivia from First Earth Tarot. I love love love her topic because it is simply joy. Yep, joy. Y’all know I love that message.

[Tweet “Olivia asked, “How do you spread joy?“”]

Affirmations. It was the first word out of my mouth. I do affirmations nearly every day on my Facebook page. I do them for me because it helps me stay on track with what I do.

I am a professional joy seeker. I take that very seriously. You might even say that I hold it as a sacred geas I’ve put upon myself.

So what do you do with affirmations? I find that they work best when I read them out loud several times during the day.

One way I come up with my daily affirmations is to randomly draw a Tarot card. Then I use that message to craft my affirmation. A key to creating an affirmation is to word it in the present tense. You want to foster the energy of it already being here.

Another thing is to avoid the negative. So rather than “I will not smack the people who make me angry” you would perhaps phrase it “I am stronger than those who annoy me.”

So try if you like. Pull a card then write your affirmation. Share it below. Here’s mine including the card I pulled.

Today I am a joy seeker. Today I am a joy magnet. Today joy covers me. I open my arms, my heart, my mind to the beauty of living a joyful life. Loved and loving, I love each of you. Seek joy, y’all.

The Union of Opposites as represented by the Lovers is our Tarot Blog Hop topic. You can thank Aisling for this one. She’s our mastermind this go round. If you are a fan of the Tarot Blog Hop, you can keep up with us by clicking here and liking the Facebook fan page. This will be a place where you can chat about posts you’ve seen on the blog and get updates as to when the next hop is. If you want to participate in the hop, click here to join the actual working group.

In the call to blog, Aisling offered an interpretaion of the Lovers as follows:

“”The Lovers”, philosophically, can represent “the Union of Opposites”. When this card falls in a reading, as many of you probably know, it doesn’t always signify a love relationship, but may indicate a wider scope of combining dissimilar things to produce a positive result. Not all opposites are bad things, and sometimes both entities are necessary to produce a whole; think of male and female, night and day, giving and receiving, listening and speaking, acting and waiting to act, and many other places where the Union of Opposites produces the whole….”

I don’t usually see the Lovers as a relationship with another but with yourself. And think about the dissimilar bits of each of us. How often to you feel pulled this way and that way by nothing more than your own thoughts? How can we begin to understand that person on the other side of the mirror when we can be our very own Beatles song?

So that brings me to a spread I created for this Tarot Blog Hop. I’m calling it the Hello You, Goodbye Me spread. It is a way for us to dive into how we can acknowledge what our own needs are–even when they seem to be in opposition.

Hello You, Goodbye Me Spread

Card One: What makes us want to say goodbye

Card Two: What makes us want to say hello

Card Three: How can we hold space for both needs and honor both sides?

Placement is Goodbye to the left, Hello to the right and Holding Space above both.

Goodbye: Strength shows up to remind me that maybe it’s time to bid farewell to my need to “do it my ownself” all the time.Hello: Two of Foxes (Cups) shows one fox moving towards the other. This is an interesting card since it is the card I see as a relationship card. Here we have saying hello to being part of a couple.Holding space: is the Seven of Foxes which shows a fox sitting at a crossroads.

Obviously this says that for me to hold on to my independence while still building my life as a married woman, I must allow myself to dream. Emotional choices will have to be made, but both roads can remain open to me. Seems that both the path of independence and the one of relationships can be viable choices. Perhaps it is saying that one isn’t to outweigh the other but that I am to learn how to balance them.

I hope you will try this simple spread and let me know your results.

[Tweet “Happy Beltaine! It’s International Jump A Balefire And Have Sex In The Woods Day!”]

Hey y’all! Welcome to one of the things I am most proud of. In 2012, a discussion was under way about something in the Tarot world. It wasn’t a good something but it got some of us to think about ways to build our community rather than tear it down. I came up with the idea of a Tarot Blog Hop. On 2/2/12 we had our first one.

Every six weeks since then, we’ve come together to blog on one topic or question presented to us by whomever was crazy enough to volunteer to wrangle that particular hop. For this Yule, our wrangler is Joanna Ash who asked us to blog on the topic of “Darkness Turning To Light” because this is the shortest day of the year.

It is also the beginning of the journey back to longer days. Increment by increment, the sun will be here longer in my hemisphere while it retreats in the Southern hemisphere. I happen to love Fall and Winter. They are my fave seasons because it is a cessation of the heat. I actually prefer the chill in the air that December carries to the sizzle of July. But the Wheel must turn. The Wheel must turn.

Think of what it would be like if the seasons never changed, the days never passed. We would never have any method to mark our age, our growth. We would be utterly unchanged. That’s the stuff of nightmares for me. But we are turning back to the light now.

The Holly King and the Oak King must fight their battle, trade their swords and crowns. One must go back while the other steps forth. It’s one of the few things where I will agree that “it’s the way it’s always been”. And I’m happy for that constancy.

Oak rules the growing months from 12-21 to 6-21. Holly takes over the dark side. Let’s take a moment to explore what needs to step forward this growing time and what needs to step back.

This is a very simple three card spread.

Oak And Holly Spread

1. SUN: What area has opportunities for fast growth? Here is the place in your life that you can focus on to get the most bang for your buck. A little goes a long way in the SUN area since the momentum is already towards increase.

2. HOLLY: What area needs to be pruned and put out of the light to lie dormant? Let this card show you something that may benefit from a bit of benign neglect. You can afford to let this area be ignored for now. It doesn’t require as much attention.

3. OAK: What area needs to be nurtured and pulled into the light to grow? Here is where you need to get busy. This area could use some elbow grease and a good helping of plant food to grow. Let this carry you into the next few months.

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